(Minghui.org) As a New Year begins, it is important to know where we are and what needs to be done. With communist ideology sweeping through Western society, even America–the beacon of the free world–is on the verge of losing its democracy, legal system, right to know, and right to a fair election.
This article summarizes eight major achievements of the Trump administration in the past four years. Given the media’s distorted coverage of Trump these several years, the list will help people understand what he has done for America.
After all, when we cannot guarantee the legal rights of the U.S. president or prevent him from being defamed, our own rights might be jeopardized sooner or later. Without freedom and democracy, America will no longer be America. Without the stronghold of America, the international community could easily fall into the hands of socialism and communism.
Note: This article only discusses what has been achieved by the current administration. It by no means implies that the current administration or president has no flaws.
1. Tax Reduction, Economic Boost, and Low Unemployment Rate
In 2017, the Trump administration lowered the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and passed an additional cut to personal income tax. Moreover, the individual mandate under the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) was repealed in 2019 along with hundreds of other regulations, significantly benefiting businesses and families. With incentives for overseas manufacturing to move back domestically, about 7 million jobs were added within two to three years, reducing unemployment to a 50-year low of 3.5% before the coronavirus pandemic hit.
The U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) also increased 3% in 2018, the second highest level in 10 years. The GDP reached $21.43 trillion in 2019. Furthermore, the U.S. economy grew by 33.1% in the third quarter of 2020. With efforts to combat illegal immigration and an executive order in 2017 to “Buy American and Hire American,” border security was enhanced and labor rights–including for African Americans–were protected.
Sadly, these achievements were seldom reported by the leftist media, which often attacked Trump by citing statistics from the pandemic era.
2. Rejecting Globalism
Within a week of becoming the U.S. President, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). He then replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
In addition, the U.S. withdrew from the unfair Paris Climate Accord, which, for example, allows China to increase emissions at will for 13 years but not America. The exit from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty and the Joint Comprehensive Plan for Action (the Iran Deal) effectively curbed the nuclear threat from communist China and Iran. Moreover, the U.S. stopped funding the World Health Organization (WHO) and later withdrew from it, curbing damage to U.S. interests by pro-communist forces at the United Nations.
The leftist media often criticized these initiatives without mentioning that the globalism advocated by such organizations is driven by communist ideology.
3. Peace in the Middle East
Several months after becoming the U.S. president, Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. However, he launched eight wars during his terms. In contrast, Trump has not launched any wars in four years, making him the only American president in the past 40 years not to initiate or escalate a war in the Middle East.
To combat terrorism, military operations led to the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and Qasem Soleimani, the second most powerful person in Iran. Furthermore, moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem in 2018 and normalizing Israel-United Arab Emirates relations solidified peace in the Middle East.
Moreover, Trump resolved the nuclear crisis brought by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Troop reductions in Afghanistan and Germany were also a big success. Through diplomatic and economic measures, the Trump administration had rescued over 55 hostages, according to a White House statement in late October. Finally, Lieutenant General Michael Flynn was pardoned, closing a dark chapter of injustice.
Again, these accomplishments were rarely reported by some leftist media or were used to attack Trump.
4. Strengthening Military and Defense Power
A strong U.S. military is a major stabilizing factor in the free world. After the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 was approved by Congress, it was signed into law and increased the defense budget to about $700 billion.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 authorized a spending of about $740 billion. It also established the U.S. Space Force as an independent military branch in December 2019. With a motto of “Semper Supra” (always above), it will greatly advance American military power.
5. Countering the CCP with Trade and Sanctions
The communist ideology has infiltrated the West for decades, and the infiltration intensified since China began a diplomatic relationship with America in 1979. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in August 2018 aimed to “tell good stories about China and tell them well,” pushing the regime’s global propaganda power even further.
Trump, on the other hand, already foresaw the CCP as a major threat in his 2000 book The America We Deserve. After becoming president in 2017, he took a series of actions to address issues with China including intellectual theft, the trade deficit, communist infiltration, cyber warfare, and the swamp in Washington.
More specifically, Trump ended the American appeasement policy toward the CCP that had lasted four decades and launched a trade war with China in 2018. He also imposed sanctions against Huawei and ZTE (both firms are related to the Chinese military and pose national security threats), closed the Chinese Consulate in Houston due to its heavy involvement in spying activities, sanctioned Chinese officials for undermining Hong Kong’s democracy, and restricted CCP officials’ ability to enter the U.S. and use it as a safe haven. It is important to point out that the Trump administration differentiated the CCP from Chinese people and that most of these actions targeted the CCP.
6. Holding the CCP Accountable for Disinformation on the Pandemic
The leftist media has used the coronavirus pandemic to attack Trump while downplaying how the CCP was responsible for the global disaster. In fact, several days after China announced human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus, the Trump administration implemented measures to restrict flights from China and help Americans return to the U.S. safely. Trump also repeatedly criticized the failure of the WHO and Director-General Tedros Adhanom to alert the world about the outbreak due to their close ties with the CCP.
Besides efforts to speed up vaccine development, Trump spoke on many occasions about how the CCP covered up the outbreak, deceived people inside and outside of China, and even blamed other countries (including the U.S.) for the virus. Efforts of the U.S. administration led other countries joining a global joint force to curb the CCP. The leftist media, on the other hand, exaggerated case numbers in the U.S. and downplayed the CCP’s responsibility in the pandemic.
7. Restoring Faith and Traditional Values
Socialists in America advocate for a big government, high taxation, and high welfare. All these discourage hard work and are very similar to the communist ideology of robbing Peter to pay Paul. When socialist policies dampened incentives to actively look for jobs and increased government spending, the socialists blamed Trump for the problems.
“In America, we don't worship government — we worship God,” declared Trump. He safeguards the American founding principles, faith, and moral values, along with hard work, family values, and human rights. These initiatives have protected American people and restored traditional values. But they contradict the deep state and those who focus on their own profits in the name of the people’s interests. As a result, Trump has been targeted by Wall Street, large tech companies, and officials who advocate socialism.
8. Fighting for a Fair Election
The 2020 U.S. presidential election is very important. “Very simply, you will decide whether your children will grow up in a socialist country or whether they will grow up in a free country,” Trump said during a rally in Georgia on December 5, 2020.
“If we don’t root out the Fraud… we don’t have a country anymore,” he said in a speech at the White House three days earlier.
Along the same lines, Twitter user Kanekoa posted, “The greatest threat we're facing right now is not an invisible enemy invading our bodies, but one that is invading our country & our minds.”
During a video speech on December 22, Trump said,”As President, one of my most solemn duties is to protect the integrity of your sacred right to vote.” Facing the overwhelming evidence of election fraud, he remarked, “none of this should ever have been allowed to happen in the United States of America. It is a travesty of democracy. It's a shame upon our Republic.”
“For months and indeed years before the election, the media, the big tech giants, and the Democrat Party were openly colluding to deceive the American public. Earlier this year was proven beyond any doubt that Joe Biden's family received millions of dollars from the Chinese Communist Party. Yet the media and tech companies worked together to completely censor this information,” he continued, “We cannot allow a completely fraudulent election to stand.”
America was established on faith and freedom. As the beacon for the free world, it has played a crucial role safeguarding freedom, including religious freedom, in the world. Supporting a fair election not only is important for the candidates but is also a testimony of our conscience.
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Category: News Commentary
